Gaea's Promise
by WhereTheWorldEnds
Summary: After defeating Gaea, she swears vengeance on Percy. And after a terrible break-up with his loved one, Percy chooses something shocking as a reward for his service to Olympus. He wants to become mortal. When this happens, a certain goddess thinks he has other motives and follows him a few steps of the way. Destruction, adventure, and romance ensues.
1. Disclaimer

**Disclaimer: I don't own Rick Riordan's character in anyway, I just own the plot. **

**I did this so I wouldn't have to say that ^^ in every chapter. **


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hi guys, this is my first fan fiction, give me reviews and feedback, good or bad. This will only help me get better, therefore better stories for you in the future :). Anyway, this will take place after the events of HoO. I'm not sure where I want to take this story though (might involve Primordials, but you never know). This might start out as a Percabeth story and evolve into a Pertemis story or something else... Anyway ENJOY!**

**A/N 2: THESE ARE RICK RIORDAN'S CHARACTERS. ALL RIGHTS GO TO HIM.**

**Percy.**

I stood in the middle of this terrible monster onslaught that started at the base of Mt. Olympus. This had to be stopped or Mt. Olympus would be destroyed and the gods would disappear forever. Earthborns from Gaea and Porphyrion's army attacked me from all side, but it didn't matter whether I killed them. I had to end this at the base of the problem. Porphyion. Pretty soon most of the army had been taken out by me, Annabeth, Nico, Jason, Piper, Leo, Frank, Hazel, Thalia, and the hunters. A stray Earthborn appeared out of the ground and began slashing at me. I sidestepped and separated his upper and lower body with a swift slash of my sword. The Earthborn stayed like that for a seconds before he disintegrated into dust. I cursed. Even though Thantos has been freed and the Doors of Death have been closed, Gaea still managed to resurrect monsters. This was becoming annoying...

I scanned the battlefield for any more Earthborns and saw the gods in full fury, each desparately attacking Porphyrion and Leon. The gods needed help soon or they would fall in battle. I stopped scanning the battlefield when I saw an Earthborn sneaking up on Thalia as she was picking off Earthborns getting close to Lady Artemis. Thalia, in her hunter's get-up, was seemingly oblivious to the Earthborn behind her. That's when I decided to save her sorry butt... again.

" THALIA, behind you," I yelled as I ran over to the Earthborn and slashed the unsuspecting monster.

" Thanks Seaweed Brain," Thalia said," I owe you one."

" What is that? Don't you owe me like 7 now?" I said.

" As if," said Thalia as she returned to battle.

Just then, I heard a loud yell accompanied by booming thunder and the angst of a thousand souls? I turned over in that direction and saw Zeus, Jason, Hades, and Nico standing near Leon. The lion-headed giant was already beginning to become dust. Porphyrion witnessed what happened and threw a lightning bolt easily the size of a school bus towards them. I watched helplessly as the lightning bolt made impact and threw their bodies back as if they were nothing.

" Is that all you got? I thought you were suppose to be the mighty gods of Olympus," mocked Porphyrion.

I was about to say something when he spotted Annabeth sneaking up on him. She was still quite a distance away, but Porphyrion sensed her and turned around.

" Well you're a smart one aren't?" Porphyrion said tauntingly as he was forming another lightning bolt. Annabeth stood there frozen in fear. He released the bolt at her

" NOOOOO," I yelled as I ran over to her side. I managed to get over there and push her of the way as the bolt hit me. I remembered smelling a strong scent of ozone as I blacked out.

**Annabeth**

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion as the bolt came at me. I planned on plunging my dagger into Porphyrion's heart as he was focused on Zeus, Jason, Hades, and Nico, but he sensed me before that happened. Percy came running at me planning to do something worthy of his stupidity, but what I did was stand there, like a deer in the headlights. I heard a crackle of lightning as something hit me hard. I was pushed to the side and something heavy lay on me. It was Percy. He was almost unrecognizable with his charred shirt and red scar where the lightning hit. I myself probably would not have recognized if not for the fact that he was my boyfriend. I gave out a mental sigh. I would have to kill him for doing something so stupid after all this was over.

**Thalia**

_He's going to be_ fine, I thought,_ he does this on a daily basis. He's always okay after something like this happens, so why shouldn't this be any different?_ I remembered Percy getting hit the bolt and the way his body crumpled after that. It was just... unnatural. I rushed over to his side and saw that the lightning bolt left a nasty red scar on his left arm. His shirt was charred on the left region, but that was insignificant. I propped his body on a backpack I found on the battlefield and yelled for someone to come and help him. "Apollo! Anyone! Help him!" I couldn't do much to help him since my ambrosia and nectar reserves were empty. He was hardly breathing. This was going to be close.

" Oh, it looks like I missed," mocked Porphyrion off in the distance.

Finally, Apollo made it over and wasted no time healing him. Percy was bathed in a golden light. His sea green eyes as started to flutter, then finally opened. Apollo quickly pulled out some ambrosia and nectar and fed it to him. Percy looked a little better, but not a whole lot.

" Now, dude, that was a close one" Apollo said.

He was about to dress Percy's arm when Percy said," No man, it's fine."

" But dude-"

" Just put some nectar on it, and I'll be fine." Porphyrion was starting to get close.

Reluctantly, Apollo quickly did what Percy told him. By the time he was finished, Porphyrion was no more than 20 yards away. Everyone quickly fled from the scene but Percy.

**Percy**

" Well it looks like the Son of Poseidon still stands after that" sneered Porphyrion.

" Yeah, it was more of the fall that hurt than your bolt" retorted Percy.

" Let's see if you can still stand after this." Porphyrion created another lightning bolt and tossed it at me. I quickly rolled to the right, careful to land on my right arm. I countered with a concentrated stream of water aimed at the giant's face.

He took with surprise and stumbled back a few feet. He had pure rage in his eyes. " Why do I even have to deal with you _demi-god," _he hissed. Earthborns appeared from all sides. They formed a tight were about to attack when a few arrow heads protruded the chests of the Earthborns in front of me. I saw a few Hunters of Artemis and in the distance. I nodded towards them. They answered me with a look of disgust. _Well that's that._ The Hunters had created an opening in the circle. I charged toward the opening in the circle, slashing at the ones threatening my escape of the circle. They disappeared instantly, and pretty soon there a mound of dust next to me.

" Anything else?" I asked innocently.

" Interesting. After we destroy Olympus and eliminate the gods, I think I'll ask Gaea if I can keep you as a pet. You're fun to play with." The king of giants flashed an evil smile.

He moved towards me with incredible speed and slashed at me with a sword. **(Do giants even have swords?)** Luckily, I brought Riptide up in time to block his vicious attack. He pulled his sword back and continued with a follow-up blow too fast for me to follow. Just as he was about to land his blow, I saw Frank, Leo, Hazel, and Piper appear behind him. I haven't seen them for most of the battle, and I was glad to see them now, all looking okay without any major injuries. They launched a barrage of attacks toward the giant. The giant stopped his attack in surprise and turned around to see what caused. It didn't really look like it hurt him, but it distracted him. Good enough. As he turned around to see what happened, I brought my sword up and left a long slash on the giant's ugly face. Gold ichor started flowing out of the slash like a small, cascading waterfall. The giant's hand automatically went to his face as he growled.

"ENOUGH," he bellowed. The giant turned around and confronted Frank, Leo, Hazel, and Piper. He swung his sword and lashed out with his foot. Leo, Hazel, and Piper managed to move out of the way in time, but Frank, being the slowest, connected with Porphyrion's foot. Frank went flying in one direction. As I opened my mouth and formed Frank, Porphyrion turned around and swung at me with an oversized hand, and pretty soon I was flying too.

**Annabeth**

I watched in horror as Porphyrion brought his hand down and followed through to send Percy in the air. With that, Percy was easily 100 feet over the battlefield, and what Porphyrion did next made Annabeth's heart twist. Porphyrion jumped up next to Percy in air and brought the flat end of his sword down with impossible force. Percy returned to the ground in less than a second with a small earthquake and a cloud of dust. Porphyrion landed not to far away from Percy, but it didn't matter. I had to make sure he was okay.

**Artemis**

_Interesting, what action the Daughter of Athena is carrying out, _I thought as I watched Annabeth run over to the young warrior, Percy as the dust cleared. Even though Porphyrion was close by, she still rushed by,_ especially for a boy. I always thought this certain child of Athena to be wise and carry herself with a certain air, but I guess being around boys has such an effect on the mind._ I looked over to my faithful hunters. They were picking off stray Earthborns earlier, but now they stopped to see what had happened to Percy. One of them yelled out," PERCY!" _probably Thalia. She always thought of this boy as her brother of sorts. I do admit that this boy was different from all the other arrogant, self-loving males out there, but a boy was still a boy. _I watched with genuine interest as Annabeth made it over to Percy, trying to help him. I thought back to the time when Percy helped me when he took the weight of the sky from me, so I could fight that bastard Atlas. _This was obviously uncharacteristic of a boy to do something like that, but in the end Atlas would have been defeated anyway, so it was nothing. _I watched for a few seconds expecting the young warrior to stand up and shake off his wounds as if they were nothing, as he typically did. But he did not. When the dust cleared, I saw the pool of red blood that collected around Percy and Annabeth sobbing over him. Then I was hit with realization_.Our young hero has fallen in battle._

**A/N: So, what do you think? I want reviews about how I did. Whether you hate it like left-over vegetables on your plate or love when you don't have school or classes the next day :). Constructive criticism is welcome. Also feel to correct me about any events that I got wrong about HoO. I may not continue this specific story ( even though I got an epic plot line for it ) - :) based on the feedback, and I'll start anew with a brand new idea or just continue this story. I might also extend this chapter if you guys like it ;).So Review. I command you to -_-. O and check out my sis's account and her story. Her name is Bookworm4forever or something like that. Well then, until next time.**


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey guys, I'm pleased to say that I will be continuing this story :). I'm surprised at the amount of response that this story has gotten. I've gotten 192 views, 8 followers, 5 favorites, and 3 reviews. I'm touched that so many people took the time out of their busy lives to notice this story. Anyways that first chapter was just a test run. So expect longer chapters, starting with this one :). I'll also take this time to respond to the people who reviewed me last chapter.**

**To BookWormGirl4ever: Thanks for thinking that it's a cool story. I've got a lot of good stuff planned for it :)**

**To PertemisForever83: Thanks. I'll also try to update this story whenever I have free time, which is a lot on some days and almost none on others, so expect updates to come every now and then :)**

**To helolo: Don't worry about Percy just yet...**

**Anyways enjoy!**

**Percy**

They always say that when you are close to death, there is a bright light that guides you to the heavens, or in my case, the Underworld. That, however is not the case. There was just darkness. I stood motionlessly in absolutely darkness. But in one corner of it, I saw a paved pathway leading to the Underworld. Unconsciously, I started walking towards the Underworld, just when I heard sobbing coming from the other direction. There was nothing there but a faint light. I almost reached the Underworld when I recognized who was crying. _Annabeth_. That's when I knew that I couldn't give up just yet. I turned around and walked in the direction of the faint light. Soon enough, it bathed me in all it's glory.

**Annabeth**

I looked down at my boyfriend. He was in a shallow pool of his own blood. No matter how hard I tried, he wasn't just breathing and I couldn't find a heartbeat anywhere. He was dead. One part of my mind screamed for him to be okay, while the other part knew it was hopelessly. I put him in my arms for perhaps the last time. I almost expected for him to come back just like that, but his body was just lifeless. I looked at him for one last time. A picturesque face smeared with dirt and moist from my tears. Messy, raven black hair and eyes that always appeared to be a different shade of green when you looked at them. Sadly, these eyes would never open again. _Good-bye Seaweed Brain. I'll never forget you. _I found myself unable to leave, but Porphyrion was getting closer. Pretty soon he was standing above me and Percy.

" What's this?" he sneered," The Son of Poseidon won't stand anymore?" He wobbled knees as he said this. " Worthless demigod scum."

Out of rage, I threw my dagger at his face with all my strength. It missed his right eye by inches. The giant didn't respond to this too kindly.

" Looks like you'll be with your pathetic boyfriend, rotting in that sorry excuse for a hell hole that Hades calls the Underworld, sooner than you think," the giant threatened. He moved at me with incredible, leading with his sword. I closed my eyes and tensed up, ready for whatever Porphyrion was dishing out, but in never came. A wall of water stopped the attack. _Percy? _I saw him rise from the pool of blood he was laying on. It took all my willpower not to hug him on the spot. _But how is he alive?_

The giant sighed," Why don't you ever stay down when I want you to?"

Percy grinned," And where's the fun in that?"

Porphyrion eyed the pool of blood warily," that's easily enough for a puny demigod like you to die of blood loss. How is it that you can still stand?"

"Does a magician reveal his secrets? No. Figure it out for yourself. Oh wait, you can't. You don't have a big enough brain under that thick skull." Percy eyes seemed to be glowing now. He seemed to be full of life now. It's like he was never of the verge of death. _Well that's Percy for you._

Porphyrion growled," Well, at least I can enjoy killing you a second time." The giant moved at Percy with incredible speed, hate in his eyes. I expected Percy to make an attempt to block the shot, but I noticed that he was holding Riptide with only his right hand. _Percy's left hand was struck by that lightning bolt! He probably can't use his hand at this point! _I thought feverishly.

Porphyrion's sword was about to make contact when a wall of ice appeared in front of Percy. Porphyrion's sword was lodged into the sheet of ice, leaving his hand. As Porphyrion tried to pulled out his sword, Percy expertly changed the ice back into water and swept the water out to the far end of the battlefield along Porphyrion's sword. The giant looked at his sword for a moment longer before turning back to face Percy. He lunged at Percy. Percy missed the worst part of the blow, but it still connected. Percy was sent sprawling back a feet. Percy smiled as he stood back up and sent a wave of water down at the giant's and slid on it through an opening in the giant's feet. Percy, now behind the giant, performed a low spinning sweep kicked at the heel of the giant. Porphyrion was off-balance. Percy used this opportunity to bring the water underneath the giant's up. Porphyrion fell with a sickening thud. Percy continued with a lifting motion of his left hand causing a giant water spike to impale the giant. Golden ichor flowed out of the wound and mixed with the water. Percy wasn't just done with him yet though. Percy suspended the bleeding giant in air with a giant water fist. Percy followed the king of giants up with a geyser of water, being in the middle of it. They were easily 30 feet above ground.

" Next time, tell Gaea to send better," spat Percy.

The dying giant responded with a desperate moan. He was about to say something when he sent the giant back to the ground with a swift downward motion of his hand. Porphyrion landed with such force that it shook the ground. The giant was so disfigured that it was hard to tell that he was disintegrating. Percy landed on the ground softly and stood there. He looked at me for a few seconds with those loving green eyes that I have grown used to seeing. Then he fainted. I ran over to him as fast as I could, but Gaea materialized out of the ground.

" Well, it looks like you defeated the commander of my army, but I can breed you into a better one," Gaea smiled evilly. Earthen vines snared Percy's body and began dragging him down through the ground.

**Artemis**

I couldn't just let that evil woman take Olympus's hero ( as much as I hate to admit that he is) without a fight. I scanned the battlefield for my hunters and saw scattered around Gaea. They were all looking at me intently, waiting for orders. With a quick motion of my hand, my hunters quickly fired volley after volley of arrows. Gaea sensed this coming and stopped the arrows in mid-flight with a wave of her hand. The arrows fell uselessly to the ground, only a few feet away from the target. But my hunters were relentless. A pile of arrows was forming next to Gaea. Gaea, unfazed by all of these, continued to bring Percy down with her. Out of Thalia's desperation, she let loose an electrified arrow. This seemed to do the trick as Gaea stopped moving Percy and sent a shockwave to Thalia. Thalia moved out of the way before the attack hit. But that was enough. I took this distraction and notched back a silver arrow. I fired the arrow towards the off-guard deity.

The arrow pierced Gaea's stomach and she stopped extracting Percy as she clutched the wound. The evil goddess started sinking back to the ground. Before she was fully submerged by dirt she spoke a few words. She turned to Percy's limb body," My dear Percy, I will be back for you," Gaea's sweet, but intoxicating voice rang out across the battlefield. She turned and face me," You'll regret this choice Goddess of the Moon." I notched another arrow and fired. It missed Gaea as she fully submerged into the ground. Her voice rang out one more time,"Perceus Jackson, you have doomed all those you love and care for. I promise you that much."

I paid little attention to Gaea's threat as I ran over to the young boy. He was in terrible shape, but still breathing and alive. Thankfully, he passed out from overexertion and exhaustion .I looked over his body for major injuries he received during the battle. There was that prominent red scar that dominated his left arm, external bruising throughout his entire body, a few broken ribs sustained from the fall, and minor blood loss due to small cuts and scrapes. Other than there he was fine.

" It's a miracle that you gotten yourself killed yet," I muttered. I started by healing the worst of his injuries, the broken ribs. Slowly, I started mending the bones and putting them back in place. This went on for several minutes before the young hero's dull green eyes opened.

**Percy**

I was tired beyond words. The only reason I had woken up was that I felt an overwhelming presence and a nice sensation of healing. I blinked, everything blurry at first, then the world came into focus.

I woke up to find Artemis sitting next to me, healing my wounds. _Oh gods, I hope she doesn't kill me._ Knowing how far her hate for men runs, I'm surprised that she performed such a gesture. She turned to look at my face and noticed that I had woken up. As she turned, I couldn't help but stare. I noticed how stunningly beautiful she was. She had piercing silver eyes that were soft at the moment and luscious auburn hair that was tied up in a ponytail. It didn't even look like she had been through a full-scale battle full of bloodshed, she still looked striking. Then she caught me staring. _Oh gods, I'm screwed. I suppose it's okay to stare at your rescuer who's healing your life-threatening injuries, but this is Artemis after all. _She just gave a heart-melting smile.

" Well,it looks like Olympus's savior has waken," Artemis says.

I gave a small smile and said," Thank you for healing me, Lady Artemis. I'm really grateful for this." _Better safe than sorry or turning into a jackalope._

" It's really a miracle that you survived." she says thoughtfully," And may I ask how you were able to survive such a fall and go on after losing all that blood?"

" Well, Lady Artemis, as I was falling I summoned a small pool of water to where I was going to fall. The water softened the impact a little and helped heal me slowly. I lost some blood during the fall and it mixed with the water. The water really made it seem like my wounds were worse than they actually were." I shuddered as I relived the moment in my head.

After what seems like an eternity, she responds," Very clever, Perseus." I slightly blush as she says something close to my name instead of _that boy_ or_ that stupid male._

Annabeth made it over here and is in tears," I thought that you had finally left me," She cried onto my shoulder where I felt sharp pain, but I didn't mind. I wanted to hold her in my arms and tell her that it was okay, but my arms felt as heavy as lead and I was too tired to.

Later Apollo makes it over after healing other injuries of the battle. Artemis did a pretty good job of healing my ribs and bruising, but she couldn't tend to where the lightning bolt had struck my left arm. Apollo just stares at it in wonder.

" Dude, is it even possible to survive this?" he said as he was probing my arm. I gave an involuntary yelp. Angry welts had appeared on it as well as a lasting red scar in the form of an intricate feather design. " There is heavy damage to the nerve. I'm not sure if I can heal it all."

" It's fine. Just do the best that you can." I said reassuringly. This was odd as I was the one being operated on and he was the one trying to fix me. Apollo bit his lip and started to heal it. I remembered feeling searing pain in my left arm and seeing a blinding light before I passed out into darkness.

**1 week later**

**Percy**

_Perseus Jackson, you have doomed all those you love and care for. I promise you that much._

_Doomed all those you love and care for._

_Doomed those you love and care for._

_Doomed love and care for._

_I promise you that much._

Gaea's threat still echoed in my head when I woke up. I woke up in a hospital bed to see a familiar face sitting next to me. Annabeth. She was obviously lost in thought. I looked over to my left arm. The feather red scar that the bolt had burned into my skin was still there. I moved my arm around and was glad that I could still use it. I made a note to sacrifice some food to Apollo at dinner later.

I was currently residing in the east wing of the infirmary at Camp Half-Blood. I could see the sun just starting to rise outside, giving a warm orange light into the dark infirmary. I watched the sunrise for a few minutes longer before Annabeth noticed that I had woken up.

" Well it looks like Sleeping Beauty has finally woken up. How are you feeling Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth said.

" How long has it been since the Battle of Olympus, Wise Girl?" I asked.

She smiled at the sound of the my special nickname for her," It's been a week."

" A week!?" I asked incredulously. I immediately tried to get out of bed, but a wave of soreness and stiffness prevented from doing so.

Annabeth laughed at my feeble attempt to get out of bed.

" Wait," I almost shouted," Is everyone okay?"

" Yes, they're fine, Percy," Annabeth was obviously content that I was alive and well... breathing. She pulled into a tight hug and whispered," I've missed you."

" I've missed you too," I replied. I got of bed slowly and stood after lying bed for a week. It was an odd feeling and it didn't help that I was off balanced and almost fell upon standing. Thankfully, I was wearing clothes.

Annabeth laughed again," Wow you really are a sight for sore eyes,"

" Very funny," I retorted. Annabeth steadily led me to the cabins where I a middle-aged white centaur.

" Chiron!" I shouted.

" Percy, my boy, it's good to see you. It looks like your injuries have healed," he laughed heartily.

" Well most of them," I grumbled. Everyone laughed at that waking up some of the campers.

**Thalia**

I woke up to sound of loud laughter. _Obnoxious campers. Do they ever think about other campers? _I stopped when I realized that it sounded familiar. _Percy?_ I got out of bed and threw on some close. All the other Hunters were asleep in Artemis's Cabin. I stepped out and saw Percy. I quickly ran over there and gave him a bear hug.

" Percy! You're awake," I shouted waking up even more campers.

" Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?" he said flashing one of his smiles. I hugged him even tighter. " Easy there. I don't want any more broken bones Thals." Everyone laughed again, causing even more campers to wake up.

Pretty soon all of the camper had woke up. At first, they were all cursing the fools that had waken them up. They all shut up when they saw Percy. There were looks of awe and fear coming from most, if not all the campers. Word spread fast that Percy had slayed Porphyrion, the King of Giants, and Percy was already a legend around these parts, which didn't really help him be just one of the campers.

All of Percy's camp friends came up to talk to him, and I had never seen him happier ( unless he was around Annabeth, but that's a different story.) Everyone swapped stories about what had happened during Percy's absence, and it's safe to say that Percy had more on his hands than they did.

As we walked to the mess hall Percy saw his other friends. Friends who witnessed that battle.

" JASON, NICO, LEO, FRANK, PIPER, HAZEl, you're okay!" Percy shouted as he pulled them all into a tight hug. He got a bunch of mumbled responses because of this.

" Jason's going to get mad..."

" You had to kill Porphyrion; You couldn't save any for me..."

" It's times like this when I wish I had a girlfriend..."

" And I really thought that my dad was going to get to you this time..."

" Owwww..."

" Frank, quit being such as a baby..."

Nevertheless, they were all happy to see Percy. Then everyone exchanged what happened to them during the battle. Jason and Nico managed to take down Leon before Porphyrion zapped them with a bolt and they were out. Hazel, Piper, Frank, Leo, and Annabeth spent most of their time taking down the Earthborn army before they saw Percy being attacked. They went to his aid and Frank was sent flying back when Porphyrion kicked him. Frank was out for the remainder of the battle. I had to leave before I could share my story of the battle since they Hunters of Artemis were needed some where else. I said my good-byes to everyone. The youngest recruit, Lisa, was told to come and get me.

" Good-bye Pinecone Face," Percy teased. I shocked him once for good measure.

" Don't call me Pinecone Face, Kelp Head," I retorted.

" Geez Thals. I don't want to be put back in the infirmary again," He smiled.

I stalked off into the North woods until I reached the edge. All the other Hunters were already there in their usual, green Hunter's get-up. Artemis briefed me about the task at hand.

" So Gaea's force at are at it again," I summed up.

" Yes, we are needed at Greece, the base of the problem."

" All right then, let's go," as we left the boundaries of Camp Half-Blood.

**Percy**

After Thalia left, I wanted to go to the Arena and train. I've become a little out-of-shape after being in the bed for a week. After my group of friends dispersed, I started toward the Arena before Chiron stopped me.

" Before I forget, Percy, The Council wants you at Olympus in 6 months notice. Something about a reward or punishment," Chiron said, almost gravely. _Well, it looks like I'm in trouble again._

I finally got the Arena and saw that it was completely empty_. __Perfect. _I pulled the cap of Riptide and walked towards the closest training dummy. Pretty soon there was a piles of straw and Greek armor scattered around the battle. I was sweating and a bit tired, but not as tired as I thought I would be. _Good._ I stopped and rested for a second. I made some water materialize and drank it. _Refreshing._ I waited a longer as the training dummies reformed themselves, as they were enchanted to. I started again when the training dummies fully reformed.

As I was about to strike the dummy, I felt a searing pain in my left hand as the red scar acted up. Then Gaea's words rang out in my head with the intoxicating voice of hers. _Perseus Jackson, you doomed all those you love and care for. I promise you that much. _I collapsed on the arena floor as the pain became more intense. Terrible images suddenly entered my head. I cried out as I saw Grover being attack by an unknown force. His body was torn up just like that. More images came and went. Annabeth and Thalia dying at the hands of an Earthborn. Jason, Nico, Frank, Leo, Hazel, and Piper dying at the hands of Porphyrion. Lastly, my mom and stepfather in the hands of Gaea as she did horrible things to them._  
_

As quickly as that it happened, it stopped. I quickly looked around for any monsters or Gaea. Nothing. I looked down at my arm saw that nothing had happened to the red feathery scar. In fact, it was already starting to fade. I shook this terrible experience off as I continued to chop down training dummies.

By the time I left the arena, it was already starting to get dark. I think I killed so many dummies that I broke the reforming enchantment. _Oops._ I hit the showers, put on a fresh orange t-shirt and jeans, and walked towards the mess hall and grabbed some food. It was already full by the time I got there. I made sure to sacrifice some food to Apollo, Artemis, and my father. I watched as the flames carried the ashy remains of the food up to the heavens. I walked around until I spotted Annabeth at the Athena table. I walked towards it and all the other children of Athena scattered as I approached. I sat across from her. She smiled when she saw me. _  
_

" So what have you been up to?" she asked me with a raised eyebrow.

" Nothing, just beating up training dummies. Speaking of which, I think I broke the reforming enchantment they had." I said with an evil grin.

" Great, now I have to ask Hephaestus for a new reforming seal," she said irritated. I just laughed at this. " Only you would find a way to do something like this," she added.

" Yep. Want to go for a walk?" I asked.

" Sure, but knowing you, I think we would end up in a never-ending pit or the Underworld." She said suspiciously.

_Same old Wise Girl. _" It'll be fine," I said.

She sighed," Fine."

We walked around aimlessly, talking about old times until we reached Fireworks Beach. We sat down on the warm white sand with tide rolling back in and out. The stars shining above. We stopped talking for a little while. It was silent until Annabeth rested her head on my shoulder. She lifted her head off my shoulder and turned to face me." I love you, Seaweed Brain," she whispered.

" I love you too, Wise Girl." I whispered back.

" Promise me that you'll never leave me," she continued.

" I wouldn't even dream of it." I stared into her storm gray eyes before kissing her gently. When we pulled back from each other, we heard a faint whistling then saw a display of assorted colors as fireworks lit up the night sky.

" Wow," I said," It's not even the fourth of July."

" They're celebrating the fall of the giants and well your return."

" How thoughtful of them."

When the fireworks died down, Annabeth's breathing became steady and soft. She had fallen asleep. I looked down at her beautiful, sleeping face and her relaxed features and kissed her gently on her forehead. It was then that I realized that I couldn't endanger her or anyone else that I loved with Gaea's "promise". I really had to do something about it.

**A/N: A little of bit of action for you Percabeth fans out there :). Enjoy while you can for it might not last forever... Anyway don't forget to review. Reviews make me feel all happy inside and feel appreciated... No not really, but seriously review. Tell me what think. You can vent your frustration out on me about how I failed or tell me about my genius. . Review -_- I command you to.**


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: Wow, I am impressed by the amount of attention this little story has been getting. As of now, it has 1,067 views, 18 followers, 11 favorites, and 7 reviews. That's a huge increase from last time. This mostly occurred during chapter 2. Anything that I did in there that you guys want in future chapters? Well the only way to tell me is through reviews ( Well you can also PM me but that doesn't count ) :P. So review if you want your voice to be heard ( well read). Now back to the story. Percy has an idea forming in his head, and I'm not sure if you guys will like it. Also Annabeth... is well... read to find out ;) Time to respond to my reviews.**

**To Maragon11: Artemis being too cold to Percy factors into Pertemis action later on, so read on to find out...**

**To PertemisForever83: Thanks! I'll try to keep chapters of such quality coming.**

**To Deadly Thinking: I agree. Great stories out there that are never finished. It irritates me beyond words. Anyway I've got a lot planned for this story so don't expect it to die off just yet ;)**

**To helolo: It's going to be a Pertemis story... Percabeth has already happened... kind of...**

**Anyways enjoy!**

**Annabeth**

I woke up the next day in my own bed in the Athena cabin. My thoughts flashed back to the romantic night that I shared with with Percy. _I must have fallen asleep while I was with him that night. He must have carried me to the cabin and put to bed._ I tried to go back to sleep, but it eluded me. Finally I got out of my warm and comfortable bed and prepared for the tasks ahead in the day. The faint snores and steady breathing set off the fact that everyone in my cabin was still sleeping. I walked outside of the cabin and noticed that the sun hadn't even rose and the stars were still out. I silently cursed Apollo for being lazy.

I looked around for any other campers and saw Chiron watching the flame in the center of the cabins. _Doesn't that centaur get any sleep?_ I walked towards the fire and stood next to him. The fire illuminated the night and distorted the shadows. Chiron, unaware of my presence, continued to stare at the fire. He was obviously deep in thought.

" What are you thinking of, Chiron?" I asked, breaking the silence other than the cackling of the fire.

Chiron looked startled for a second before he responded," Oh! Annabeth, you're awake. What are you doing at this early hour?"

I shrugged," I woke up and I couldn't go back to sleep,"

" Well, now that you're here, I have a message to pass on to you. It's from your mother."

" Athena? What does she need?"

" She has decided that you have proven your skills as an architect by remodeling Olympus, and she wants you to work on restoring the original Parthenon."

" The Parthenon, as in Athens?"

" Is there another?"

I squealed in delight," Thank you, Thank you, Chiron," I hugged the centaur who stiffened.

" Anyway she wants you to get started in 6 months. She also prepared a book for you to study," Chiron handed me a thick, bound book that had a faded title. _A Demigod's Guide to the Parthenon._ The book was written in Ancient Greek. I don't even know how I could not have noticed for Chiron was holding in his hand the whole time," and a note from herself."

I took these two things and relished the idea that my mother thought that I was worthy of such a task. " Thank you Chiron, I won't disappoint you,"

He laughed," It should be your mother who you shouldn't disappoint,"

After thanking Chiron one more time I left and went to my cabin. Everyone was still sleeping, but no matter. I turned out the lights, getting weak protests as I did so. I walked to one of the desks and sat down in the chair. I pulled out the letter and began to read.

**Artemis**

I took in the sights and feeling of the Sanctuary of Artemis in Athens, Greece. In a matter of moments, it would run down to the ground by monsters. The sanctuary was almost nothing like I remembered it being thousands of years ago, but it was still a representation of me. And it's not every day that you get to visit a sanctuary dedicated to you and not be bothered by those pesky gods of Olympus with a task that they're just not up to do. Sadly, my visit in Greece wasn't for sightseeing or enjoyment. My hunters and I had tracked down Gaea's forces and realized that they were headed for here.

The reason why Gaea sent her forces here is unknown, but it must have been important for her to have mobilized such a large force of 10,000 monsters. My hunters and I reached here first and set up an ambush. I took extra precautions to hide our presence here. The plan was to ambush the monsters once we knew what they were looking for and possibly where it was. I did not expect my Hunters and I to be able to subdue such a large force, but I did expect them to take out monsters stealthily and be able to obtain the unknown object. This reconnaissance mission would be an easy thing for them to accomplish, but nevertheless it was dangerous. _If only we knew what they were searching for, that would turn the tables._

I told my Hunters to be ready when I felt a large number of monsters approaching. My Hunters and I hiding in various points of the sanctuary in pairs. With me, was the newest recruit, Olivia. At age 13, she was the youngest member of the Hunt. She was obviously terrified by this event, but I trusted in her in abilities. I trusted the abilities of all my Hunters._ We are ready for_ this.

The monsters came in all directions. There were empousai, Scythian dracanae, and telekhines. Monster dialect poured out from everywhere," I hate thissss ssso much,"... " I'm hungry. We should go for the blood of young men after this" ... " Yes we must find it for Gaea"... Useless conversations like this went on for several minutes before a much less intelligent empousai asked what they were doing here," Why are we here again?"... " We're here to look for our mistress's son's weapon. His scythe."... " Oh, we should just hurry up and find it then. I want to leave" I nearly gasped. _They could not have meant Kronos's scythe? It was destroyed when Kronos was defeated. Yet here it is._ I looked over to my Hunters. Most of them knew what consequences would befall us if the enemy found it, as they were visibly distressed. Not to mention that Kronos was reforming faster than anticipated. _But how?_

We stayed hidden for a while and watched monsters come and go until an idea hit me. _I could just search for the scythe's presence in this plane. It is immensely powerful, so I can easily detect it. _I extended my senses out and detected a powerful presence in the eastern wing of the sanctuary. I motioned for my Hunters to move in that direction. We stealthily made our way over there and noticed that the monster activity in this area was almost nonexistent. _Strange. _But I paid that detail no mind._  
_

The first thing that struck me was how chaotic this area the sanctuary looked. Pillars that crumbled and the entrance into the temple was collapsed. Ivy covered every part of the building as well, but I noticed that a statue done in my likeness was unscathed. In fact, the statue seemed to be radiating power. I extended my sense out and noticed two distinct power signatures. One coming from statue and one in front of it. _ Just what happened to the statue. I do not recall ever placing power in the statue myself and I do not have an overage of power in Athena's domain. Strange. _I looked around for any monsters -there weren't any- and quickly made it over to the statue. I placed my right hand on it and immediately regretted it. Raw, chaotic power coursed through my body. At first I felt powerful and all-mighty, then it overwhelmed me. I nearly fainted when the sensation ended. The world seemed to be spinning around me.

" Mi'lady!" one of my Hunters cried. It was Olivia. " Are you alright?"

I answered with a dry cough. She tried to give me some ambrosia and nectar, but I put my hand up. She stopped. A crowd of my Hunters was started to form me and the statue. I silent cursed myself for being so careless as to trying to identify a dangerous unknown power. It also took a my Hunters out of my position.

I tried to stand up, but another one of my Hunters stopped me. " Mi'lady, your arm!" I looked over to my right arm and noticed that shadowy markings in a language that I didn't understand was imprinted onto my skin. It seemed pulse and give off power. Just to make matters worse, Kronos's scythe emerged from the ground and of course my marked arm grabbed it.

When I did so, a beacon of dark purple light rose straight into the sky accompanied with a loud boom that would get the attention of monsters 20 miles away. Not only did it give away the position of me and my Hunters, but it gave off such a scent that monsters easily a 1,000 miles away could smell. I tried my best to conceal, but it just stayed. When I tried to let the scythe go, my arm wouldn't do as I told it to. I could still move it around, but it just didn't let go of the scythe. I tried to move away from the statue, but the scythe felt like I was carrying the weight of the Sky. I tried to flash to Olympus, but the scythe stopped and I felt like I just ran into a brick wall. The scythe was probably bound to this plane, and as long as I was bound ti the scythe, I wouldn't be able to go to Olympus._Great, just great. _My Hunters noticed these symptoms and rushed over to help. Yet again, I put my hand up and stopped them.

Monsters started to close in from all sides. The unbearable scent in the air, other than that of the scythe, set off the fact that there was a large number of monsters in once in my immortal life, I didn't know what course of action to take. The best thing we could do was hold the monsters off until we figured out what to do the scythe, but we can't hold such a large army of monsters forever.

" Mi'lady, what do we do now?" one of my Hunters asked nervously.

" We fight," my voice strained, as I struggled under the immense weight of the scythe.

Everyone got into battle stances, as I tried to get one of my hunting knives out. I realized that I wouldn't to do anything and watched helplessly as the monsters charged. My Hunters noticed inability to fight and formed a protective shield around me.

Monsters fell left and right, each ridden with a few arrows. My Hunters were merciless in battle and didn't show any signs of weakness that the monsters could exploit. I beamed with pride. By the 200 monsters had been taken down, my Hunters were visibly tired, and their quivers were getting dangerously low. I knew that we wouldn't last any longer and prayed for help.

When my Hunters ran out of arrows, they resorted to their hunting knives and I was in danger of passing out from exhaustion. My Hunters broke formation and went after any monsters that were getting close, which was basically all of them. One of the monsters, a dracanae, got pass all my Hunters and headed towards. I closed my eyes and braced myself as the dracanae raised her sword and brought it down. But it never came. I heard swords clash a few times and a scream as a monster disintegrated. I opened my eyes and saw a pair of sea greens eyes staring right back at me. _Percy?_ He flashed a smile, showing off his perfect teeth. I smiled back weakly. Suddenly, the strain of the scythe became too great and I passed out into darkness. The last thing I remember was a pair of strong arms cushioning my fall and someone calling out my name.

**So what do you guys think? This chapter was pretty short, but I wanted to get it out after not updating for like a week. What do you guys think about what happened with Kronos's scythe? Was it good, bad, evil, or idiotic? Well the only way to tell me is through reviews, so review. I command you to -_-. The next chapter will be pretty long, so expect a lot to happen next. Sorry for the cliffhanger. It was all I could do to not add a few thousand more words and take a few more days. Well until next time.**


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey guys, enjoying my chapters so far? NO?! Well too bad you still have to read them :P. A lot of stuff going down in this chapter, and I'm not sure if you guys will like it...**

**Now to respond to my loyal reviewers:**

**To PertemisForever83: Thank you! I'll try to make each chapter... spectacular**

**To Maragon: Thanks**

**To Donnerva Jones: Just keep on reading buddy...**

**To Shadow-God-Time-Hunt-Ice-Tide: But Gaea spelled like this looks cooler than Gaia spelled with a i...**

**To helolo: I, too, was a Percabeth fan until I read a Pertemis story...**

**Anyways Enjoy!**

**Percy**

Zeus briefed me about the strange surge of power and how Artemis might be in trouble at the Sanctuary of Artemis in Athens as soon as Hermes brought me to Olympus while I was training. It almost shocked me that the King of Gods was capable of feeling concern for someone other than himself. _Maybe there is a heart under that thick, shell of his._ He told me that if I failed, then I shouldn't return to Olympus. That was a really generous offer considering how this task was forced upon me and I didn't really get a say in it. All I could do was nod was my head and say," Yes sir," in order to avoided being zapped.

I was bathed in golden light as Zeus transported me to Athens, Greece.

I have to say, what they people say about the view in Greece about being beautiful and such, is wrong . I saw complete chaos as a seemingly endless flood of monsters came from all directions and the temple itself destroyed. I scanned the scene and saw Artemis defenseless and her Hunters scattered around. _Why isn't Artemis fighting?_ I looked over there and noticed that she was holding on to something. I couldn't see what it was from this position and it wouldn't Artemis or anyone if I was over here. I judged the distance between me and Artemis. _A good quarter-mile, not to mention the endless waves of monsters. _I pulled out Riptide and slashed at the nearest monster.

**Thalia**

As much as I hated to admit it, but we needed help. Gaea's forces were unforgiving and luckily we haven't sustained any casualties, but it won't forever. My arrow supply was getting dangerously low and I was tiring. The same was happening to the other Hunters. I pulled a pair of hunting knives and slashed at an oncoming dracaena. Two other dracaena seemed to take the fallen one's place and came at me. I easily dispatched the first one, but the second got pass me and the Hunters and went towards Artemis. I noticed that Artemis was on the brink of complete exhaustion and saw that she tensed up, waiting for the monster to attack. I tried throwing my knives at the dracaena, but it sailed right pass it. I sprinted over there and pulled out another pair of knives. I got in close and slashed at the monster, but before I made contact the monster disintegrated. I looked pass the dust that the monster left behind and saw a familiar figure with messy raven, black hair and sea green eyes wielding Riptide. _Percy?_

**Percy**

I had made it just in time to intercept the dracaena that was making its way towards Artemis. The monster slashed at me with her sword. I expertly blocked her attack and striked at its side, cutting it in half. It screamed as it vanished. I looked over at Artemis. Her eyes were closed, anticipating that attack from the dracaena. She slowly opened her silver eyes and looked over me before she settled on my eyes. I gave a smile and she smiled back. My heart skipped a beat. _Percy! Remember Annabeth would kill you for this. _I mentally scolded myself. The feeling of Artemis's smile was short-lived as she soon passed out. I quickly cushioned her fall with my arms and something slipped out of her hand. As it fell, I noticed what it was and how important this task was.

" Lady Artemis!" a Hunter screamed.

The object itself was something that I didn't expect to see again in my life again. My mind slowly registered what it was and started wondering why it was here. The object was Kronos's scythe_. But why is it here? Wasn't it destroyed when Kronos was? Has Kronos already reformed!?_ When it hit the ground, the sky darkened and a beacon of dark purple light that I didn't notice was there vanished. An earthquake that was easily over magnitude 10 happened and I was thrown to the ground. The ground started to split everywhere and Hunters and monsters alike running for cover, or more accurately trying to run for cover. It was practically impossible to move in conditions like this. _The scythe. It must be causing this. Artemis wasn't able to fight earlier because she was holding the scythe._ My mind hardly registered my last question, _Why?, _as I went for the scythe. Lady Artemis was still in my arms, so I scooped her up and carried her bridal-style. _I really hope she doesn't turn me into a jackalope later for this. _I stumbled over to the scythe and grabbed it with my right hand. I immediately wished that I didn't.

Shadowy markings in a language that I didn't understand appeared on my right arm. Holding the scythe was felt like carrying the sky all over again, maybe worse._ That's why Artemis couldn't fight_. As much as I wanted to be rid of the scythe, it wouldn't let me. For one thing, if I let it go, the earthquakes and such might happen... Two, I tried letting it go and I did, but the scythe simply hovered next to me and followed me where ever I went. The burden of the scythe was still there, and as energy-sapping as ever, but I had to go on. But it at least I could carry Artemis this way. I gave myself a mental slap.

The beacon of dark purple light a appeared again, but this time it was accompanied by an earsplitting boom. Then a strange scent washed over me.

The good news was that the ground started shaking and the Hunters were mobile again. The monsters were also driven away, but they were coming back. It also looks like who ever left the scythe wasn't against us. The bad news was of course the scythe, the matter of what to do with it, why, and the matter of escaping from the monsters. Now that I had time to think ( though it was hard to with the burden of the scythe), I noticed that the size of the monster force rivaled the Titan's force, it might have even surpassed it. Unless it could be the same force... It looks like Gaea has a hand in this somewhere. I shivered involuntarily at the mere thought of her name and was reminded of the "promise" she imposed on me.

The Hunters soon appeared in front of me, their expressions all varying: 11 expressions of disgust, 5 of relief, 3 of uncertainty, 3 of pure hate, and 1 of happiness.

" Is everyone all right?" I asked, straining to get the words out.

" We don't need your help, _boy,_" one Hunter sneered," And we don't need you touching our mistress like that," motioning towards Lady Artemis in my arms. Others acknowledged my question and simply nodded.

" Well I don't exactly want to be either, but I have to be. Unless you want to defy the orders of a god, by all means stop me. I mean I would be more than happy if someone took Lady Artemis or the scythe off of me, but it looks like I have no offers," No one made a move to stop me or take Lady Artemis or the scythe.

" Well what do we do now Perce?" a Hunter, Thalia, asked. I was glad to see her, but now was not the time to chat.

The monsters were starting to close in now. " We obviously can't kill all these monsters. I have an idea, but it might not work," I replied. The Hunter who challenged me seemed amused by this.

" What is it?" a young Hunter asked.

" Has anyone seen a small triangle on anyone of the buildings or imprinted onto to something?"

" I think I know what you're talking about," another Hunter answered. She led us to the main building, but the entrance was collapsed. " I saw it in there," she said, motioning at the building. _Great, how are we suppose to get in?_

As if she read my mind, the Hunter that challenged me look at the side of the buildings and stopped at a crack in the in the side wall. She let out a yell and kicked it. The wall gave way, and we had an entrance. _I should probably be careful around her._ The young Hunter went in first. We all followed.

Architecture is not something that I deeply admire, but the designs in the main building were something else. There were a few exhibits,mural, and a statue of Artemis, but the the building itself seemed like it was carved by an expert sculptor. The room was held up by exquisitely created columns and even walls seemed to have a story behind it. _Annabeth would really enjoy this._ I stopped myself and focused on the task on hand.

" It's over here!" The young Hunter said. She was over at the statue of Artemis along with the rest of the Hunters. I slowly made my way over, but I started to feel woozy. The strain of the scythe was becoming too great. My vision started to darken around the edge of my field of sight. I nearly blacked out, but I thought of the consequences of what would happen if I failed. I thought of what would happen to Annabeth if I failed. That's why I can't fail. _I must protect her, no matter what the cost is._ I forced myself to keep going even though I was well over my limit, with one thought in mind. _I will protect Annabeth._

I finally made it over to the statue. The small triangle was on the pedestal that the statue itself was on. All the Hunters looked at me expectantly. I knelt down as best as I could with Lady Artemis in my arms and the burden of the scythe. I touched the triangle. I heard growling and I turned around. The monsters were outside and starting to enter. I willed the triangle to hurry up. At first nothing happened. Then the triangle glowed for a few seconds before the light died. We all heard a faint rumbling sound that was growing stronger. Instinctively, everyone backed up, with me being the slowest of course. The rumbling intensified, then stopped. A set of white, marble stairs that led underground appeared in front of the statue. The monsters found their way in and looked at us like a lion stalking its prey. We weren't left many options, but I hope this one was the right one.

" Into the Labyrinth," I yelled. All the Hunters ran ahead of me down the stairs. I followed slowly, nearly tripping on the steps. As soon as I entered, the entrance closed behind me ( and the scythe unfortunately) trapping us in what could be eternal darkness. There was no going back now, and I guess I have to trust Daedalus on this.

**So what do you guys think? I know some of you guys think I'm crazy for including the Labyrinth since it was destroyed when Daedalus died, but there is a logically explanation... which will be supplied in the next chapter. What do you guys think about how Percy feels about Annabeth. Don't worry, it's going to be short-lived ;)... Well don't forget to review. I only have 14 reviews as of right now, and I want at least 20 before next time -_-. Well until then.**

**O and sorry for not updating for so long! I've been busy and stuff... Such is the life of WhereTheWorldEnds...**


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N: Time for Chapter 5! You guys excited? [ insert answer here] NO!? Well you should be! The Labyrinth. Why is it there? What purpose does it serve? Would Percy look good as a blonde? These questions answered (not so much the last one :P) and more!**

**Reviews! I want them, and they make me happy :D. So give them to me. So far I have 21 of them. I want 35 by next time or there will be consequences... No not really, but reviews are appreciated :). Time to respond to them:**

**To MonkeyFish997: No, I thought it was a death threat _ :P. You really think that it's a masterpiece? Or are you inferring that I improve my writing skills so it is a masterpiece? So, I'm a bad writer... :P. Alright, I'll try to make it a "masterpiece".**

**To Guest: I'll try to UPdate when I can. :D**

**To Curious Guest: Thanks! I'm really glad to have your support :D! I'll try to keep the great chapters coming, and I swear on the River Styx not to abandon this story! Hades can have my soul if I do abandon it before I rot in Tartarus O_O.**

**To sallutus: Thank you! What parts do you like think that about it make my story interesting?**

**To The Invisible Pretender: Interesting plot twist in a good or bad way? Your guess was right in a way... No not really, but nice try! Glad I caught your curiosity!**

**To : Thanks! I got a lot planned for it :D.**

**To PertemisForever83: Thanks! I hope this chapter will be "marvelous" :D.**

**To helolo: I actually do think this chapters are short. I'm trying to make them have at least 5000 words each, but sometimes my schedule gets in the way... Once you give Pertemis a try, there's no going back... They're such a cuter couple than Percabeth :D... Wow, that was OOC of me with my name and everything... Anyway, I'll try to give you a memorable Pertemis experience :D.**

**To The Forgotten Guardian: Whoa there buddy, there's no need to shout :P. I'm glad you think I'm an excellent writer, with what MonkeyFish997 thinks ^_^. I always try to update as soon as possible, unless I'm feeling lazy...**

**Anyway, enough with the ramblings and let the chapter begin!**

**Annabeth**

_Dear Annabeth,_

_I have written this letter to inform you that I want you working on the restoration of the ancient Parthenon in Athens. I have gauged your ability as an architect and feel that no else is better suited for the task or as passionate about it as you are. I know you won't disappoint and that you'll do great. You will depart 6 months from now.I be will there in person to transport you there myself (you can't really trust Zeus to get you there safely...). I have prepared a book for you to study up on the Parthenon. Also keep an watchful eye out for an ancient evil there... I'll spare you the details, since it might just be a rumor, but it wouldn't hurt to stay vigilant._

_With Love,_

_Athena_

I read the letter again three times in the dim light of the cabin before I finally left the meaning sink in. My mom, Athena, really did trust me to work on the Parthenon! My biggest dream was coming true, and my mom was taking me there herself! I felt so elated that I could burst! One of my siblings, Malcolm, woke up and noticed my expressions of happiness.

" What are you doing up at this ungodly hour, Annabeth?! And why do you look so happy?" Malcolm asked. He looked at the clock. " 5:00?! Are you kidding me!"

_Well someone's not an early morning person._ But I wasn't going to let his morning attitude ruin my good mood. I tried to keep my composure as I told him about the task the Athena had given me. I watched his excited reaction as I let him read the letter.

" Annabeth! This is great! One of our own gets to work on the restoration of the Parthenon!" he squealed. If I didn't know him, I would have thought he was some Aphrodite boy spreading around the latest gossip about some love triangle. In fact, I was glad that he could share my happiness. I was completely shocked when the rest of the cabin shared my enthusiasm as well. ( It took Malcolm a few buckets of ice, cold water that he found in the Hermes cabin to wake everyone up. I don't even want to know what Travis and Connor had planned for that.) Malcolm happily announced the news and excited chatter broke out.

I had assumed that some of my siblings would be jealous, but they all supported me. They all drilled me questions, and with all the excited energy I had, I answered them all.

The letter was passed around, and of course, one of my siblings had to be a downer.

" What about the part of the letter where Mom warns you about an ancient evil? What's that have to do with anything? Could Mom be sending you on a suicidal mission?"

The cabin room became so quiet to the point to where you could hear a pin drop. Everyone stopped what they were doing and gave the him the death stare.

The kid, Brian, seemed unfazed by the glares of hate. " What? I'm just analyzing the letter and listing possible outcomes."_  
_

Brian, who was sitting on one of the top bunks, continued to give other "possible outcomes". I was fed up with his arguments ( the most annoying one being that the Parthenon would collapse on me) and walked right up to him. I gave him a good thump on the head. He fell right off his bed and landed with a satisfying thud. His arguments became nonexistent. He rubbed his head and muttered something about dumb blondes, then he finally shut up.

My siblings started talking again, but they were interrupted by Malcolm who somehow managed to silence everyone. " Annabeth, I think it's safe to say that everyone in this room is happy and excited for!" he stopped and gave a glare to Brian, who in turn responded with a smart-ass comment. Malcolm made a move toward him and Brian shut up again. " Anyway, the Athena cabin will make sure that no one gets in your way as you prepare for the trip,"

I was genuinely touched by this. " Aww, thanks you guys!"

Everyone came in for a group hug. _Sometimes you have to just love your family._ I thought about telling Percy the news, but put it off since he was still sleeping. I pulled out _A Demigod's Guide to the Parthenon_ and began to read as my siblings thought of ways to prevent distractions.

**Percy**

The darkness became unsettling and time lost its meaning. The passage way was narrow and seemed to stretch on forever. It felt like we were walking in circles. The Hunters were quiet throughout the entire episode and Lady Artemis was still out cold, her breathing steady and even. Man, I'd be lying if I told you that I hated carrying her... _Damn it Percy! You have Annabeth! Stop thinking like that!_ The only inconvenience other than the darkness and being lost was the fact that I might slowly be dying. The scythe, even though I couldn't see it, was still floating behind me and following me as I went. How I could tell? I could feel still it gracing me with its presence. There were times when the strain of it was becoming all too great and the reality passing on to oblivion seemed inevitable. I had to fight it to stay in control, but the thought of Annabeth made all the tension go away. _You have her to protect and her to go back to after all this is over. _This little trip in the darkness went on for another half an hour before I realized something important.

" Everyone! Put your hand on the right side of the passage way and keep it there as we continue," I struggled to put my right hand out to touch and the right side of the passage way. I made sure that I wouldn't drop Lady Artemis as I followed my own orders. There were a few audible doubts of getting out of here, where ever here was, but they stopped after 10 seconds. With everyone following my advice, the passage way was lit by dim light with no visible source and a room on the left 15 yards ahead of us.

With the passage way illuminated, I noticed that entire passage way itself was made of white marble. There was only one person who could have made such a seemingly infinite, marble passage way. Daedalus.

The Hunters didn't notice any details about the passage way as they closed the distance to the room.

The room itself was shockingly made of white marble as was the ground. If I didn't know any better, it seemed like an interrogation room... The room was illuminated by the same dim sourceless light. Off to one corner of the room was a lifeless automaton. It had a humanoid form and was was the only thing in the room. I told the Hunters to stay back. I walked up to the automaton then I realized that I still had Lady Artemis in my arms.

I started to turn around when the automaton came to life. _Oh shit! _I turned around slowly to face it. It made no move toward me so I started to walk back to the Hunters slowly. Before I could even take a step, the automaton raised its hand until it was level to my chest and shot a dart at me. But it was directed towards Lady Artemis. Instinctively, I would have rolled toward one side to avoid the shot but with Lady Artemis in my arms and me being in no physical condition to pull off such a manuever, it was impossible. I did the only thing I could have done in this position. I turned around and shielded Lady Artemis from the dart with my body. The entire exchange took little more than a second.

I felt white-hot pain shoot up to where the dart buried itself in my left shoulder. It wasn't really the pain that took me back, but the impact the dart. It knocked the wind out of me tenfold, and it almost made fall forward. I stopped myself so I wouldn't fall on Lady Artemis. _Gods, that would have been awkward on so many levels. Not to mention that I would be an animal of some sort if she found out, or worse woke up if that happened... _

The automaton took on a face, but not just any face. Daedalus. His face on the automaton looked kind of wispy, but you could still distinguish the major features of his face. His often absented-minded expression was replaced by one of genuine concern.

" Percy! Are you all right?" Daedalus asked, his face distorted as he sounded out the words.

" I guess so, but I could be better," I said passively.

" We should get that arm treated! The dart was poisonous. That automaton was a test to see if you were who you really said you were," As if on cue, I started to feel more tired than I already was.

" I thought I was the only one who knew about this secret passive," I said, my words slurred.

" You were, but it was only necessary so that so spies of Kronos wouldn't sever my last ties to the living world, the automaton," Daedalus said. The automaton rushed forward and injected a syringe into me. No, a more accurate word would be stabbed. The automaton literally jammed the syringe next to where the dart hit me. Well it's not like I was already injured there...

I sighed," I guess you're right. Well at least I won't die now," I added pessimistically

Because of how brutally the syringe was injected into me, the edges around my vision started to darken and my entire body felt like lead. I felt lightheaded and coughed up blood. I closed my eyes, let all my injuries catch up to me, and spoke allowed the sweet allure of rest to take me.

As I started to fall, Lady Artemis stirred in her slumber, and whispered a few words before becoming still again in my arms. " I'm all alone," The words were hardly intelligible, but I could just make them out.

This small event would have probably went unnoticed in my state, if the weight of her words didn't hit me. It was heartbreaking and sad to hear these kinds of words from such a breathtakingly beautiful face. My eyes snapped open and I regained my balance. I would protect her for as long as I had.

**A/N: And that's the end of chapter 5. I'm really sorry that it took so long to get this one out, I started writing it at 1 in the morning hoping I would get it done, but it didn't happen. The reason as to why the Labyrinth is still existent will be revealed in the next chapter in the form of a flashback. Sound good to you guys? I just couldn't end the chapter on a happier note ^^.Anyways, review! I want to reach my goal ^^ by this Sunday, when I will try to update. Now I have to go write a report about Isaac Newton and have a presentation ready for it. It's due this Friday. Wish me luck!**


	7. Author's Note ( The Good Kind)

**A/N: Hey guys, I'm really, really sorry for not updating in a while. I've been busy with summer studies, sports, and music... Anyways, I wrote this little author's note to inform you that I have started writing again! I plan to post the next chapter of the story sometime within this week. Also, feel free to go back and reread the older chapters and correct me on any mistakes I have made. And, don't forget to review! Feedback you guys give me motivates me to write even more! If I get enough reviews, the chapter will be out sooner than later...**

**WhereTheWorldEnds**


	8. Chapter 6

**A/N: After much anticipation, I present you Chapter 6! I really hope this chapter meets your expectations and that you enjoy it! On a side note, this story has reached 10,804 views! Applause for all you readers out there :D! I'll respond to all my reviewers out there next time since I kind of lost track of them... Enjoy!**

**Percy**

As the effects of the antidote started kicking in, I felt much more alert and energetic. Well as alert and energetic you could feel with something equivalent to the burden of the sky weighing you down.

After that little episode, The Hunters who were surprising quiet throughout the entire ordeal, started talking among themselves again. The most popular topic among them being how Daedalus was still alive. One of the Hunters, Thalia, spoke up," If you don't me asking, Daedalus, but how is it that you still exist on this plane and how is the Labyrinth still intact?" She directed her next question at me," And how did you know that this passage would be here?"

Daedalus answered first," Wow, I'm surprised that you Hunters have kept up in the affairs of a man," This resulted in unsettling unrest among the Hunters and a serious sounding death threat from a rather agitated Phoebe. (** Phoebe is the Hunter that challenged Percy a few chapters ago. I'll go back and name her** **later**.) I chuckled. The death threat was kind of obsolete since Daedalus was already dead... technically. Daedalus was about say more, but the unrest among the Hunters became a full-out rant about how men never respect women and how they are rude, arrogant, selfish... This went on for several seconds before the automaton raised its hand in an attempt to silence them. This came out as an attack on the Hunters, which caused them to draw their weapons. It probably didn't help Daedalus that the automaton had a poisoned dart in its hand and it would be best if he pointed it else where... This whole meeting right here would have been laughable if the situation at hand was not so, well, dangerous.

I spoke up, "Just stop! He doesn't mean you any harm. He just wants you to stop talking so he can explain,"

The Hunters stopped for a moment before directing their rant towards me. Thalia, on other hand, was unsuccessfully trying to get the Hunters to quiet down. I took the high road, just standing there and taking in all their insults. By the climax of all the arguing, most of the Hunters had stopped except for one, Phoebe. All hell broke loose when Phoebe let out, "YOU STUPID, USELESS SPAWN OF POSEIDON! YOUR MOTHER IS THE ONLY UNDESERVING WHORE OUT THERE!" And by this time, I was tired. I was tired of it all, so I started yelling back.

"And you Hunters think you're all that huh? Well you would have all died up there if _I _had stepped in and saved your asses! SO SHUT THE HELL UP AND NEVER TALK ABOUT MY FAMILY LIKE THAT AGAIN OR YOU WON'T JOINING A HUNT EVER AGAIN!"

With all the yelling going on, I didn't even notice Lady Artemis starting to wake up.

At the end of my "You became a Hunter because you needed an excuse for being rejected by so many males" retort, I heard a shriek. I thought it was Phoebe, but after looking at her, I noticed that she was equally surprised. I looked around to see if any of the Hunters screamed, but none of them did, they were all equally surprised. _Oh Gods._ I slowly look down to find a pair silver eyes staring back at me. They weren't soft, caring eyes like they were when she was healing me last time, but hard, cold eyes that were glaring daggers.

"Perseus Jackson, I would appreciate it if you put me down," she began venomously. I put her down slowly and prepared myself for the verbal attack she was going to give me. But what she had in mind was much, much worse. She raised her right hand and there was a flash of light.

_Life seemed to take on a new perspective. Everything was a blur as I had the feeling of running around. All the sounds, colors, and senses I had were a lot to take in, almost overwhelming. I had a distinct thought or instinct to survive. A torrent of raw emotion overtook me. Sleep, hunger, insecurity, loneliness, distrust, fear, and a sort of nostalgic sadness was all I could feel. Then nothing more as something bright invaded my being._

Having a total loss of memory of what happened in the last few moments, I only remember the vaguest feeling of being cute, like something from Bambi, and wanting to kill something made of carrots. I shake this feeling off and look around the entire room. Everyone was all teary-eyed from fits of fits of laughter, except for Daedalus, who even seemed mildly amused by something. I look to him for an answer, but he just chuckles.

_Wait. Carrots? Cuteness? Oh hell no. I've been turned into a jackalope! _I looked over to Artemis for explanation, but she was too busy laughing as well. They laughed for several minutes before they started quiet them down.

I cleared my throat," Ahem, if we could get this meeting moving along,"

"And I got _it_ on video," one of the Hunters giggled. Well whatever _it _is, I'm pretty sure that I don't want to know...

"Ah yes, where was I? This lovely Hunter wanted to know how the Labyrinth and I are still here," gesturing towards Thalia," And that would best be answered with a lecture," that earned a collective groan from the Hunters.

"The Labyrinth, as everyone knows, is tied to my life force, or more accurately, my soul. So, when my soul was released in the Battle of the Labyrinth, as it was so deemed, the _main_ Labyrinth, was destroyed. But long before the battle, during the time of which the Labyrinth was created, I hid a part of my soul in an automaton. When you sever part of your soul, you sever all connections it has to the rest of your soul, so the part of the soul in the automaton could continue to exist in this plane. Therefore a small part of the Labyrinth could continue to exist,"

"But what exactly is a soul?" one of the Hunters asked.

"Hades might tell you otherwise, but the soul is the part of you that is most important to you and make you who you are as a person, demigod, god, titan, you name it! For me, my soul was my brain. Specifically, the part of my soul, or brain, that I hid in the automaton was my prefrontal cortex, which deals with attention span,"

"So that's why you always seemed absent-minded and distant around everyone!" I shouted out with realization," But how come you always seemed to be to attentive to Annabeth?"

"Well I would normally respond to people with certain levels of intelligence, which mind you isn't terribly high, and Annabeth exceeded that prerequisite to be able to converse and plan with me,"

"Then how come you ignored me most of the ti— Hey!" I said indignantly. Everyone in the room burst into fits of laughter again, with the exception of me and Daedalus.

"And to answer the question you gave me Thals," I started, "Daedalus hinted that this passage was here as the Labyrinth was collapsing. ' _I've always wanted to visit **Athens. **Have you ever been there when they **honor the moon**? It's been **10 **lifetimes since I've _**_left_ for** it' he said. I didn't really know that the passage would be here. I just took a gamble that it would be here.

"Wow, a hidden message inside of a set of words given to you that seemed to have no correlation with the situation at hand. I'm surprised that you figured it out Perseus," Lady Artemis spoke for the first time after _the incident_, "But where exactly are we? And how did we get here? I was out of it for most of the trip here,"

"Lady Artemis, we're in a part of the Labyrinth near Athens that wasn't destroyed when Daedalus died. And the entrance, well the entrance was in your temple,"

"_Daedalus! Who gave you permission to use my sacred place of worship for an entrance to one of your glorified hallways?" _She looked _pissed._ _Moral of this meeting? Never get on Lady Artemis's bad side._

I decided to step in before she would kill him Daedalus, or worse, turn him into a jackalope, "M'Lady, if he hadn't used your temple as an entrance, then we would be fighting our way out of Gaea's army right now. We're safe because of him,"

"_Well who said that we need __his help, or your help for the matter_," she spat. Wow that stung only... a lot!

"But if you didn't my help, then why did you pass out with the scythe in your possession?" I said calmly

"I didn't need help with the scy— Oh no! The scythe! Where is it?" She was starting to freak out, like a genuine panic attack. I probably would have let her continue to do so... if I didn't feel so bad for her.

"It's okay m'lady, I have the scythe,"

"But it's worse than the burden of the sky and where is it now?"

"I still have it and its effects are still as imminent as ever, but I'm dealing with it,"

"Give it back! You won't be able to endure its effects for much longer!"

"It's fine," I reassured her, "I've been dealing with its effects for quite a while now. So if we could get this meeting moving along, I'd really appreciate it," I struggled to get those words out. _If we could just hurry up.._

"So Percy, is that what brings you here, a scythe?" Daedalus, or well the automaton, began casually.

"Well Athens might be overrun by monsters, there's a slight chance of Gaea coming back again, and then there's the scythe," I responded nonchalantly as I turned around and grabbed the scythe. I walked up to the automaton and showed it _his_ scythe.

Daedalus looked shocked, then calmness washed over his distorted features. " Kronos" he simply said. " But what do you want me to do about it?"

"I want you to do something about the scythe. The scythe seems to be key in this entire situation. The monsters Gaea sent seemed to be after the scythe. Once I grabbed, it felt like I had the burden of the sky. There was also a beacon of light and a strange scent that seemed to attract monsters,"

"A curse," Daedalus breathed. He thought about it for a second, "Well there's really nothing I can do. The situation itself is quite fragile, and the scythe being a critical component to it. If you were to remove the scythe from the equation, well everything would be in frenzy. And what would you have? Chaos everywhere. So perhaps it is better to leave the scythe alone."

His answer was the last possible thing I needed to hear. If we can't do anything about the scythe, then what would we be able to do about Kronos's resurrection? " Well can you at least explain these strange markings?" I showed him my right arm.

He analyzed the markings on my right arm for a moment before saying anything. " Oh, the situation you have gotten yourself is dire indeed. Inscribed on your arm is a curse, a promise if you will. ' Everything you love has been marked for death and destruction.' But this does change what we can do for the scythe. This shows that the scythe is not being used in the way that we believe it is, i.e Kronos's resurrection, as of the moment. The purpose that the scythe serves is to mark you and everyone you love for death. It seems like Gaea herself cursed it for this reason. So if we were to take the scythe away from the situation, the effect might not be as dire as I anticipated,"

_Another promise on my family and friends, just what I need. As if I didn't have enough to worry about. _Every fiber of my being just wanted to throw in the towel and have nothing to do with _this_, but I'm already in a grave that I've dug that's way too deep for me to climb out of it with Gaea and Kronos covering it up, having succeeded. _If I can't do anything about it, I might as well go down fighting._ "What can we do about it?"

"But something doesn't add up. Why would Gaea send her own army on a scythe that she's already cursed? Unless Gaea intended to do this to throw us off, there might be a third party working against us," Lady Artemis interrupted.

"Yes I noticed that too, but we can't really do anything about it until we know who the third party is. But if they can summon an army that large, then they are a force to be reckoned with," Daedalus responded.

"My Hunters and I will go find out who or what the unknown force is soon after this," Daedalus nodded at this.

"So Percy, there are a few things you can do in your position: one, let the scythe, or rather the owner of the scythe do as he pleases, two, destroy it, or three, getting rid of the curse then figuring out what to do about the scythe.

_Destroying the scythe would be ideal, but doing so could have unknown effects on the entire situation. And there's always the chance that the curse would still be on me even if the scythe was destroyed.I better go with option three..._ "The third option sounds the most logical," I said definitely.

Daedalus grunted with approval. "In order to get of the curse, you need Artemis's help,"

Lady Artemis raised an eyebrow, "How can I help? I can heal wounds, but not remove curses,"

"Oh, we don't need _you_. We just need your status as an immortal," Daedalus said rather dismissively.

Lady Artemis gave him one of her I'm-going-to-turn-you-into-a-jackalope-if-you-aren 't-respectful looks. Daedalus didn't notice.

He continued to explain, "So the idea is for Lady Artemis to give you some of her immortality, so that you can combat the effects of the scythe indirectly. After a certain period of time, the scythe will become considerately weaker. The curse of the scythe will stop soon after as well as the weight of the words it carries. Then it will simply be Kronos's weapon and nothing more than that,"

Lady Artemis looked skeptical of the idea. "Is that really all that needs to be done?"

"Nothing more to it, but of course we can't do this without your consent, m'lady,"

"Please m'lady, I would really appreciate it," I pleaded.

"Just think of this as repaying the debt that I owe you for carrying the sky," Lady Artemis said, almost coldly.

"Thank you, m'lady," I was relieved, "So how is this going to work?"

"It is mostly done on Lady Artemis's part," Daedalus answered. He directed his attention to her, "So in order to give Percy some of your immortality, you just have to think that you're giving him immortality, like your blessing. But instead of an external power source, you have to draw it from your own,"

"I don't see why we just can't grant immortality to Perseus," Lady Artemis said, obviously irked with having to share her immortality with me.

"If we did that, the scythe would still recognize him as Percy. The purpose of giving the immortality of a different immortal is to confuse the scythe,"

Daedalus was about to say more, when the ground above us started rumbling. The ceiling cracked above and small fragments of white marble starting raining down on us. "We probably better hurry this little meeting along," As if on cue, an earsplitting roar above us came to attention.

_I heard that kind of roar before... It sounded like... Drakons!... We better get moving soon. _I made eye contact with Lady Artemis. She nodded. We had to get this done and leave... fast.

Lady Artemis stood in front of me while Daedalus backed off a little. She muttered an incantation in ancient Greek and motioned for me to hold out my hands. I did so, then we joined hands. _For some reason, holding Lady Artemis's hands gives me an indescribably feeling of happiness. I'm not sure if it's the transfer of immortality or just her... Damn it Percy! Of course it's the transfer... But I can't help wishing that it was her... No... Annabeth... I'm going to back Annabeth, not her... Just remember that..._

"I, Artemis, Goddess of the Moon, forfeit part of my immortality to Perseus Jackson,"

A rather big orb of silver aura appeared in my hands. Soon after it disappeared into them. It felt like another being entered my body and was residing there, but it was... incredible. I felt much more powerful than I had ever before. I would have probably continued to bask in the feeling of this power, if a giant chunk of marble didn't fall next to me.

"It is done," she finished.

"Now there is something important that you must remember Percy," Daedalus spoke quickly. "You must return Artemis's immortality to her a year. If you don't do so, there will be dire consequence for both of you,"

"I swear of the River Styx to return Lady Artemis's immortality back to her in a year," I promised as thunder rolled in the distance. Several more Drakons roared above us. We really had to leave...

"Now you must all leave! Follow the passage way out and you will end up somewhere outside of Athens. Remember to keep you left hand on the side of the passage!" Daedalus said.

The Hunters filed out of the room. Before I followed them I out, I turned to Daedalus. "Thanks for everything! It was nice to see you,"

He smiled warmly. "It was nice to see you too. Good bye, Percy,"

I turned around and left the room. Darkness overtook me and all that was heard was the faint breathing of the Hunters. I realized that Lady Artemis wasn't with us yet and told the Hunters to stop. The white marble passage way was starting to collapse, but we had to wait for Lady Artemis. When she finally came, I ordered the Hunters to start moving and reminded everyone to put their left hands on the side of the passage.

After a few minutes, we saw a bright light in front of us as the passage way was collapsing. One by one, the Hunters entered the light. Lady Artemis went in front of me and entered the light. I stopped for a few seconds,turned around and whispered, "Good bye, Daedalus," The Labyrinth seemed to groan in response. I turned around, entered the light, and left the Labyrinth for the last time.

**Artemis**

As everyone exited the room, I was stopped by Daedalus.

"Artemis there's something you need to know about Percy and his condition," I raised an eyebrow in response. He continued, "Not the only does the bearer of the scythe have something equivalent to the burden of the sky, attract monsters, and allow Gaea to know his position, but the scythe corrupts soul and eats away the life force of the bearer. The scythe was so inextricably bound to Percy that there was not much that I could do for him. The only way to combat the effects of the scythe was for you to give him some of your immortality. Even with that only solution comes a deadly risk. Immortality is a sort of life force that provides eternal life and such to gods and goddesses, but to a demigod, it drains his life force and soul. With the scythe corrupting and taking away Percy's soul and life force, and your immortality draining his life force, he will surely die, if not for the slightest chance of survival. Even though your immortality gives him a feeling of power that he has never felt before, he is getting considerately weaker. In a short time, he may not exist. I withheld this information from because he is an important piece of this predicament and an important resource for us to win the fight against Gaea. He must not know about this," Before I could say anything a giant chunk of white marble fell on the automaton. The head was the only visible thing in the wreckage. "Now go," Daedalus finished as the automaton ceased to function.

I quickly exited the room and followed the rest of the group that was waiting for me.

When we left the Labyrinth, we ended up outside the city. Athens itself was still visible in the horizon. After gathering my thoughts there was only one course of action that we could take. We had to return to Olympus. With the remnants of curse on me and the full curse on Percy, I couldn't just teleport everyone to Olympus. No we had to do this the hard way. We had to walk, climb, hike, swim, and run to New York.

Let the journey begin.

**Well I hoped you guys enjoyed the chapter! Now you readers have to review to tell me how I did. I will also be going back to previous chapters and fixing any mistakes that I have made and maybe adding on to them. And can anyone tell me about when the battle in the first chapter took place. I want to keep track of the dates that Percy have to make, i.e. when he has to go to Olympus to get rewarded and when he has to return the immortality he received. Thanks for reading!**

**WhereTheWorldEnds **


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